Motor-vehicle transmission mechanism



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UNITED STATES PATENT GFFECE.,l

JOHN A. STUMPENHORST, 0F WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNR T0 DUPLEX TRANSMISSION COMPANY, A CORPORATIUN @JF DELAWARE MOTOR-VEHCLE TRANSMISSION' MECHANISM. I

' Application filed april 25, 1923. Serial No. welles.

My invention relates to motor vehicles and is engaged by the over running hook and particularly to power transmitting member as it moves in a vertically upward lmechanisms for such vehicles. direction when actuated by the co-operating @ne object of my invention is to provide shifter rod. This action causes the forked a relatively simple and compact mechalever to disconnect .the two parts of the auxnism that shall permit of disconnecting the iliary clutch which isv thereafter' caused to change-speed gear set of. a motor vehicle be reconnected by resilient means. When from the 'driven means, which mechanism the over running hook member moves in a shall be actuated by the gear-shifting means. 'downwardly direction it is permitted to Another object of my invention is to move past the short lever by integral reprovide a disconnecting mechanism that is sllient means.

interlocked with the means usually prointerlocking means is provided between vided for actuating the main clutch, so that the respective toothed sectors and the footthe change-speed gear set may be disconpedal'lever actuating the main clutch, andnected from the driven means and the gears may comprise a bell crank lever pivotally changed, only at the time that the main mounted intermediate its ends, one end of clutch is disengaged. which normally engages an opening in the ln practicing my invention l provide the toothed sector and the other end of which usual motor-driven change-speed gear set, is connected to a bent link member that is having a main clutch operatively connectoperatively connected to the foot-pedal ing the two parts, and further provide an lever. auxiliary multiple-jaw clutch operatively The device embodying my present invenconnected to the change-speed gear set and tion is particularly applicable to and'may located between it and the driven means. be used in conjunction with the device disl provide any desired type of gear-shifting closed and claimed in my co-pendng appliv means to effect changes in the-internal concation Serial No. 618,760, filed Feb. 13,1923. nections of the change-speed gear set and The device disclosed and claimed in my cofurther provide a mechanism to disengagev pending application, Serial No. 617,218, the auxiliary clutchwhenever the gears are filed Feb. 6, 1923 may also be employed with changed-.by the gearshifting means. This the device embodying my present invention. mechanism comprises an integral extension The device disclosed and claimed in the on each vof the usual shifter rods, provided present application is, however, not limited with teeth and constituting a rack bar. mits use to any particular design of change- Pivotally mounted toothed sectors opera-v speed gear set, of gearfshifting means, or of tively engage the teeth in the respective auxiliary clutch', one type of whiclilv is disshifter rods andare respectively provided closed vin my Patent No. l1,396,074 issued 9L with a depending extension. to which the November 8,1921, and assigned to the Dulupper end of a link is pivotally connected. plea; 'Transmissionl Company. The device the gear set, in order that the operation of thel t e that has a neutralposition and a.

The lower end of each link is pivotally conembodying my present invention may be nected to an yover-running hook member that employed with or embodied iti ,a changeis slidablymounted'in a lug that is integral speed gear set that'is actuated either man- 9i with orsecured against the gear set casing. ually or by either mechanical or electrical One of each of the pivotally` mounted automatic means and' is also applicable to toothed sectors, and the link and hook inem- `the so-called preselective change-speed gear ber operatively associated therewith is promechanisms.- Its only requirement is that, vided on eachside'of the casing containing the change-speed gear set mechanism be of 100 either of the shifter rods may operate a hook pluiahty of operative positions. member. forked lever is pivotally mounted within they casing, with its free end in In the single sheet ofNdrawings, .Figure 1 is afview, partlylin vertical lon- `operative engagement with one of the mem# gitudinal section and partly inside eleva-"19 bers of the multiple-jaw clutch. A short tion, of a-iiotorA vehicle transmission mech. lever is operatively connected to the forked anism comprising thefdevice embodying my lever, angularly displaced relatively thereto invention, l, p

' Fig. 2 is a view, in side elevation, with "certain portions cut away, of a device embodying my invention as mounted in the means comprising a part of my invention,

land` Fig. 5 is a top plan view of an over running hook member comprising a part of the device embodying my invention.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the numeral 10 designates an engine of any standard design edective -to drive an automotive vehicle, the driven member of which is here represented by a main shaft, 11 that is connected by the usual uni- -versal joint 12 to a drive shaft 13. A shaft 14 of the engine 10 has suitably secured thereon-one half of a main clutch 15, the

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other portion thereof, designated by the numeral 1 6, being caused to normally opera- -tively-engage the part 15 by a spring 17. .A'jfootpedal lever 18 is provided to manually .actuate the part 16 to disengage the samefrom the part 15. lWhile l have shown aparticular construction of main clutch and of clutch actuating means, ll do not desire to be limited thereto, as any suitable or desired construction of such parts' may be employed.

A casing 19 contains a change-speed gear set aggregate 21 which may be of any suitable type usually employed for such purposes. Means-for edecting changes in the internal connectionsof said gear set may comprise a manually operable gear shift lever 22 that is pivotally mounted in the top of the casing 19, and that selectively engages the shifter rods 23 and 24 of the usual type provided in such devices. Forked levers 25 are mounted 'on the respective shifter rods 23 and 24 and extend downwardly to operatively engage two gear wheels mounted on a shaft 26 that is axially alined with a shaft 27 upon which the main clutch member .16 is slidably mounted. Upon moving the gear shift lever 22 inalateral direction, its lower end is caused to engage a notch in either one vof the two shifter rods, and then vmoving the lever 22 and therefore one of the shifter rods longitudinally'of the casing 19, one of the gear wheels on the shaft 26 1s caused to operatively engage a co-operating gear `wheel in the usual well known manner to effect a change in the internal connections of the gear set.

l provide an auxiliary 'clutch member 28 comprising a rear half 29 that is mounted i on and secured to a part of the shaft 13 that extends into the rear portion of the casing 19 and is supported by a suitable bearing ythe lower en member 31, and a (zo-operating forward half 32 that is mounted on thesplined shaft 26 as is more particularly described and claimed in the above mentioned co-pendingv application, Serial No. 618,760. A helical spring 33 encircles a-portion of the member 32, a stop plate 34 mounted on the splined shaft 26 being engaged by one end of the spring'- 33, the other `end of which engages an integral radial flange 35 of the -member 32.

The shifter rods 23 and 24 are provided with integral, rearwardly extending por tions that are severally provided with a plulrality of teeth 36 located in the under face thereof. Toothed sectors-37 are vpivotallymounted in suitable bosses or lugs 38 mounted on the upper surface of the rear portion of the casing 19, each sectoi` being mounted on and secured to a short shaft 39, thetwo shafts being maintained in substantizdy co' axial alinement by a. tubular member 1 lo. cated over the adjacent ends of the shafts 39 and suitably secured to one of them. Depending levers 42 are secured on the outer end of each of the shafts 39, and have respectively connected thereto depending links 43 by means of a pin 44. v

Over running hook members adapted' to move vertically at the side of the rear end of the casing 19 are pivotally connected to comprise a relatively small tubular casing 45, having an. integral rear portion 46, substantially rectangular in lateral section, and having an annular flange 47 at its front end.

.of the levers 43 and severally A helical spring 48 is located within the! 'tubular casing 45 and a hook member49, of substantially T-shape, is resiliently pressed outwardly by the spring 48 against a cover member 51 suitably secured against the dange 47, a portion extending through the cover member,` substantially as illustrated. The hook member 49 is provided with a rearwardl extending guide rod 52 sliding in a suita le opening 1n the portion 46 in order to maintain thefhookmember 49`in proper .alinement lduring the operation of the device. The portionv 46 moves in a guideway of overhung channel section that is provided by a lateral` lug or 'extension 53 lil@ that may be suitably machined to provide a vertically extending guideway therefor. rllhe lug 53 ma be either integral with or suitably secure against the side of the casing 19. When the shifter rods are moved rec by the lever 22 the toothed sectors 37 operatively connected thereto are given a turning movement on the shaft 39, thereby raising one of the links 43 and the co-operating hook member 49. .This raising of the hook member is obtained irrespective of whether one of the shifter rods is lmoved. from its intermediate neutral position in a forwardly or in a backwardly dlrection. y

The upper end of the portions 46 are respectively provided with an integral extenslon or lug 54 to which the lower end of the cooperating lever 43 is pivotally connected. The upper surface-of the hook member 49 is substantially plane and extends in. a substantially horizontal direction, while the lower surface thereof is of arcuate form.

A means for actuating the member 32 of the auxiliary clutch toldisengage the two parts thereof is located within the casing 19 and comprises a forked shifting lever 55 that is mounted on and secured to a shaft 56, which shaft is, in turn pivotally mounted in suitable lugs 57 integral with or secured against the outer sides of the casing 19, the upper forked end of the lever 55 being in operative engagement with one face of the radial flange 35. Short hook-members or levers 58 are mounted on each of the two ends of the shaft 56 and have an upper curved surface and a lower substantially straight surface. Theshort levers 58 on the shaft 57 are so located relativelylto the overrunning hook member 49 as to be engaged and actuated thereby whenever the hook member and the parts operatively associated therewith, more particularly the members 45 and 46, move in an upwardly direction under the influence of a turning movement of one-of the toothed sectors 37 when a shifter rod is moved from its normal intermediate, that is, its neutral position, to one of its operative positions. When the hook member 49 is thus moved upwardly it causes a turning movement of the short lever 58 and ofthe forked lever 55, whereby the member 32 is disengaged from itscooperating clutch member 29, and whereby the changespeed gear set isientirely disconnected from the driven shaftll and therefore from the rest of the driven parts of the motor vehicle. The spring member 33 is compressed when the member 32 is mo ed-away from the member 29, and as soon as the hook member 49 has moved a sufficient distance upwardly it moves out of the way of the short lever 58, thereby permitting the helical spring`33 to move back the member 32 so as to cause it to again engage the member 29.

When the operator moves either one of the shifter rods 23 or 24 by means of the gear shift lever 22 from one of their respective operative positions back to the neutral position, the hook member 49 and the closely associated parts are moved'in a downwardly direction and the lower curved surface of the hook member 49 will operatively engage thek upper curved surface of the short lever 58, whereby the hook member 49 is caused to move inwardly against the pressure of the lspring 48, being maintained in roper alinement 1n the tubular member 45 y the extension rod 52. This ermits the operator to shift from an operative positionto a neutral position of the gear set without causing the mechanism to disengage the auxiliary clutch. Suitable means (not shown) may be provided to prevent a turning movement of the members 55, 56 and 58 when the hook member 49 is being moved downwardly.

Means for interlocking the mechanism for actuating the auxiliary clutch with the mainclutch-actuating means may comprise a bell crank lever 59 pivotally mounted in a substantially horizontal plane in a lug 61 provided on lthe casing 19. @ne end of the lever 59 may be provided with a reduced portion 62 that normally operatively engages one of a plurality o f openings 63provided in the outer surface of the toothed sector 37. A bent link member 64 has its rear end pivotallyconnected to the short end of the bell crank lever 59 and has its forward end suitably secured to a part of the foot pedal lever 18. It may be slidably supported in lugs 65 integral with or secured to the side of the casing. A bell crank lever 59 and link 64 is provided for each side of the casing whereby each of the toothed sectors 37 is provided with means interlocking it with the main-clutch-actuating means. When the operator presses the foot pedal lever 18 in a forwardly direction to disengage the clutch member 16 from the clutch member 15, the two levers 64 are also moved in a forwardly direction, whereby the reduced end 62 of the bell crank lever 59 is moved out of the opening 63 normally occupied by the same. Three openings 63 are provided in each of the sectors 37, one for the neutral position of the gear shifting means and one for each of the two operative positions. As long as the main clutch is engaged the operator is prevented from actuating the gear shifting mea-ns by reason of the hereinbefore described interlock, but as soon as the main clutch is disengaged he is free to shift the gears, as the outer ends of the bell crank levers 59 have been disengaged from the sectors. 37.

When the gears have been shifted and the4 foot pedal lever allowed to return to its normal position the reduced ends 62 engage'one of the outer openings 63, the sectors 37 hav-l ing been moved by the shifter rods in either a forwardly or a backwardly direction,

whereby the two devices are again interlocked. While I have shown and described a particular form of interlocking means, l do not -desire to be limited thereto, as it is easily possible to devise other and similar means to obtain the same results.`

The operation of 'thedevice embodying my invention as applied to a vchange-speed gear set may be briefly described'I as follows:-

When the' operator desires to v'effect a change inthe internal connections of the gear set,tl1at is, desires to shiftf gearshe first moves the foot pedal.1' 8` to cause .disengagement Vof the two parts of the main clutch; If the vehicle is in motion and if he should desire to change from high gear to 1- intermediate, or to low gear, he would experience diiiiculty in the ordinary changespeed gear set by reason of the fact that the two gear wheels to be placed in mesh with each other are operating at relatively very different speeds, and that one of these is operatively connected to the vehicle itself, whereby any sudden change ofxspeed of that gear wheel is practically prevented. When the device embodying my invention is applied to such a change-speed gear set the action of the operator in moving the gear shift lever to shift gears causes a simultaneous actuation of the auxiliary clutch to disengage the change-speed gear set from the driven part or parts ofthe motor vehicle, whereby the shifting of gears is made relatively easy as described in detail in my Patent No.1,396,071l issued November 8, 1921.

.The resilient spring member causes a return movement of the one part of the auxiliary clutch toward the other partyand as the longitudinal axial jaw surfaces' are provided with either a single or a double bevel as more particularly disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 618,7 60, re-engagement of the two auxiliary clutch parts is effected quickly under ordinary operating conditions.

When Vthe operator again desires to change gears or to stop, he first causes disengagement of the main clutch by actuating the foot pedal lever 18 and thenA moves theA shifter rod from its present operative position to its neutral position. During the operation the over-running hook member moves downwardly past the short lever 58 without actuating it and the forked lever 55, thus making it possible to, change from an operative position of the gear set to a neutral position without causing actuation of .ually operable gear-shiftingl means, "m vention is not limited to such means on y, as

the auxiliary clutch.

While I have shown and described a vmanit can be applied to automatic gear shifting meansf of any kind, whether .ctuated mechanically or electrically.. My invention is in fact particularly applicable to such automatic gearshifting means Where it is easily possible to'provide suicient force not only to shift the gears but also to actuate the mechanism embodying my invention. The use of an auxiliary' clutch such as described in the hereinbefore mentioned co-pending applications, is practically necessary in automatic gear shifting devices because of theV relatively large amount of power available for 'shifting the ears, making it necessary to have the conditions attendin ing my invention Vin connection with an the shifting of the. gears the best possib e that can` be obtained. The use of the device embody-- auxiliary clutch permits of obtaining such conditions and therefore easy and proper shifting of gears is assured.

Various modifications may be made in the device embodying my invention Without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and I desire that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed b the prior art or. are set forth in the appen ed claims. y

operatively connecting said gear set to a driven means, of a single means, actuated by either of said shifter rods when moving from a neutral to an operative position only, for actuating said auxiliary clutch, said means comprising an over-running hook member.

' 3. In a motor vehicle transmission mechanism, the combination with a motor driven change-speed gear set comprising a plurality of shifter rods, and an auxiliary clutch op- I means, of means actuated by one of said shifter rods for edectin disengagement of said auxiliary clutch, -sai means comprising a plurality of teeth on said shifter rod, a. pivotally mounted toothed sector operatively engaging said teeth, an over-running hook member operatively connected to said toothed sector,and a lever operatively engaging said auxilliary clutch and actuated byl said hook mem e I 4. In a motor vehicle transmission mechanism, the combination with-a motor driven" change-speed gear set comprising a plurality of shifter rods, and an auxiliary clutch operatively connecting said gear set to a driven means, of means actuated by onel of said shifter rods for effecting disengagement of said auxiliary clutch, said means comprising a plurali-ty 'of teeth on each of said shifter pivotally mounted toothed sectors operatively engaging said toothed shifter rods,

a lever operatively engaging said auxiliary' clutch, and a plurality ofover-running hooked' members` respectively actuated by v eratively connecting said gear set to a driven iis said toothed sectors and effective upon movei ment in one direction only to cause said le ver to effect disengagement of said auxiliary clutch.

5. In a motor vvehicle,transmission .mechanism, the combination with a motor ,driven f change-speed gear set comprising a plural- 'ist ity of shifter rods, and an auxiliary clutch operatively connecting'g; said gear set to a driven means, of. a single means actuated by either of said shifter rods when moving from a neutral to an operative position only, for actuating said auxiliary clutch to its open position, and resilient means or efecting reclosing thereof, v

6. In a motor vehicle transmission mechanism, the combination with a motor driven change-speed gear set comprising a lurality of shifter rods, and an auxiliary cltch operatively connecting said gear set to a 'driven means, of means actuated by one of l5 said shifter rods for effecting disengagement of said auxiliar clutch, said'means comprising a plurality of teeth on said shifter rod, a pivotally mounted toothed sector operatively engaging 'said teeth, an over-running hook member operatively connected to said toothed sector, and a lever operatively engaging said auxiliary clutch and actuatedl JOHNl A. sfrUmENHoasfr. 

